Catch Up

We have been doing lots of yard work whenever the weather is clear. Transplanted some peony's, iris, and lilies from Mom's house to ours; mulched where needed; tilled the garden again; planted a few more peppers. They don't seem to be coming up too well, so I may end up buying plants.

The new trees are doing well. We put a protective barrier around each tree and then a layer of mulch to keep the weeds from growing up around them, and to keep us from running over them.

The apple trees are starting to bud, and a few blooms have opened. I hope we can get lots of apples this year. We are now out of apple butter, so we will plan a Saturday in October to have an Apple Fest. We will again use the large iron kettle and do this outdoors. I would also like to get a cider press so we can make apple cider.

Mr. B and PB built a salad tray for me, so it is planted with a variety of leaf lettuce and some radishes. They are coming up well. I am anxious to have my first salad!
This week's to-do list:

• Decide on what herbs to put into raised bed
• Transplant larger seedlings into pots to place in green house
• Plant next round of brussel sprouts
• Find and order seed corn to plant
• Organize garage storage
• Inventory jars for preserving
• Refinish ottoman
• Finish making napkins
• Cut and put border on clean-up towels
• Plan Easter dinner menu
• Shop for Easter dinner
• Make Easter dress
• Remove sod and prepare for raised bed for herbs
• Remove rocks from garden

Long Day

Today has been a long, but successful day. We transplanted one tree on our property, planted 2 Hazelnut trees, 2 cherry trees, 3 peach trees, 4 apple trees, and 4 bartlett pear trees. Also spent time preparing for a party tomorrow. It will be a few years before we can harvest anything from our trees, but I am really looking forward to watching them grow.

My seeds are sprouting! Most of the cabbage have come up, and several of the tomatoes. I hope I didn't start the tomatoes too late. Since this is my first year to grow them from seed I had to go by what I read. We will see if they are ready to put in the ground by May 10th.

Mrs. B

More Seeds Planted

I got more seeds planted today.

Virginia Sweets Tomatoes - 6
Rutgers Tomatoes - 12
Rocky Paste Tomatoes - 6
Super Italian Paste 6
Orange Bell Peppers - 6
Red Bell Peppers - 6

About half of the cabbage seeds have come up, all the brussel sprouts and only three tomatoes from the first batch. That's why I planted so many more today.

Mrs. B

Women's Bible Study

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 (NLT)

Why do we make it so complicated?

Mrs. B

Strawberries - Day 2

More strawberry processing today. I now have 15 8oz jars of sugar-free jam, 10 16oz containers of sugar-free freezer jam, 5 16oz containers of sugared freezer jam, 10 packs of sliced strawberries with sugar - 3 cups each, 4 packs of sliced strawberries with Splenda - 2 cups each, and three trays of sliced strawberries in the dehydrator. I still have 4 pounds left. If the dehydrated slices turn out, I may do more of those. They will be good added to cold cereal, cream of wheat, oatmeal, yogurt and as a snack. I may also try making a fruit bread with other dried berries later this summer. I'll experiment and see what I can come up with, I am thinking of a zucchini bread with strawberries, raspberries and walnuts.

Supper tonight will be baked chicken breasts on spaghetti noodles covered with spaghetti sauce and topped with parmesan cheese, green beans, and fresh veggies.

I got the last of my seeds and some of my plants today. I need to pick up another light and build another seed starting station. I am not sure where I will put this one! Probably be this weekend before I can get that done.

We have started the 30 days of Prayer for Neighbors and Nation "Revolution on Our Knees" by David & Kim Butts along with our church. Today is Day 2. The song "He Reigns" by the Newsboys has been going through my head since I read todays devotion -

It’s the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It’s the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God’s holy fire
It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir

It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It’s all God’s children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

Let it rise about the four winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this

And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they’ve just heard
‘Cause all the powers of darkness
Can’t drown out a single word

When all God’s children sing out
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
All God’s people singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" Psalm 46:10

Mrs. B

Strawberries

They are on sale this week, $1 a pound, so I got 32 pounds. So far I have made 9 pints diabetic freezer jam, sliced and froze 8 pounds, and eaten another 2 pounds (with help from the family). I will finish the rest in the morning by making low-sugar strawberry preserves.

For supper tonight we grilled pork chops and fresh veggies (yellow squash, mushrooms, tomatoes, red and orange peppers, and onions) on the grill. Yumm!

Mrs. B

Seeds

My seeds have finally started arriving. I got 135 started. I am going to have to set up another grow station so I can get more started.

Brussel Sprouts - 9
Chile de Arbel - 5
California Wonder Green Peppers - 4
Sweet Banana Peppers - 9
Ancho Chili - 4
Sweet Pickle Peppers - 2 (These are a test, haven't had them before)
Matina Tomatoes - 3 (Small, early tomato)
Rocky Tomatoes - 9 (Paste tomato)
Super Italian Paste - 9
Virginia Sweets Tomatoes - 5
Rutgers Tomatoes - 4
Cabbage - 72 (I plan to make lots of saurkraut, or at least try)

Plans -
The chilis will be dried. The anchos are great when making tamales. The chiles will be ground and used for spicing up anything.
The brussel sprouts will be eaten fresh and if any are left they will be frozen. I plan to start more seeds in two weeks and again two weeks later. This will spread the harvest out. Our favorite way to eat them is fresh, placed on a cookie sheet and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and fresh ground paper. Place in oven on 350 until done. I think it's usually 15-20 minutes.
The green peppers will be dehydrated for storing and adding to soups and other dishes. If they reach a good size I will probably make porcupines for a meal or two.
The banana peppers are a great condiment. I will remove the seeds, slice them in rings and can them. These can be used on sandwiches, salads, and I also use them when I make Ham-fried rice, a family favorite.
Paste tomatoes - catsup, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce.
Cherry tomatoes - fresh for salads and snacking, sun-dried for year round use.
Tomatoes - canned tomatoes for chili and other recipes.
Cabbage - sauerkraut, fresh and cooked with meals, cole slaw. I will do a later planting and store those for the winter.
Sweet Pickle Peppers - this plant has several colors of peppers that I will can for fun.

Mrs. B